Hacî Qadirê Koyî

Poet of the Kurdish National Awakening · Teacher of the Renaissance · 1817 – 1897 CE — Mela Qadir ibn Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-Koyi, known as Hacî Qadirê Koyî, was a Kurdish poet and teacher from the town of Koysinjaq east of Hewlêr. He is regarded as the intellectual father of modern Kurdish nationalism and the first poet to call openly for Kurdish unity in verse.

Historical Overview

  • Rise to Power: Born in Koye to a religious family, he studied the Islamic sciences in Slemani and Baghdad and performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, earning his title Hacî. He spent most of his life in Istanbul as tutor to the sons of the exiled Bedirxan Pasha, becoming the living link between the poets of Slemani and the Bedirxan family of Botan.
  • Achievements: He left a Sorani diwan rich in poems of national consciousness, and was the first to use the words 'Kurd' and 'Kurdistan' in the modern political sense in verse. He called for instruction in Kurdish and for the printing of books in the language, and criticised clerics who neglected the mother tongue.
  • Significance to the Kurds and Medes: Hacî Qadir anticipated by a full century the discourse of the modern Kurdish national movements. Lines such as 'Were it not for our pen and sword, we would not be a nation' became slogans of twentieth-century Kurdish politics, from the Republic of Mahabad to the Peshmerga.

Timeline

  1. 1817 CE — His Birth: Born in Koysinjaq, east of Hewlêr.
  2. c. 1840 CE — Studies in Slemani: He studied under the leading scholars of Baban and came under the influence of Nalî.
  3. c. 1860 CE — To Istanbul: He moved to Istanbul as tutor to the sons of Bedirxan Pasha.
  4. c. 1880 CE — Poems of Nationhood: He composed his most famous poems calling for Kurdish unity and instruction in Kurdish.
  5. 1897 CE — His Death: He died in Istanbul and was buried in the cemetery of Karacaahmet.

Battles & Achievements

  • The Diwan of Hacî Qadir: The first Sorani diwan explicit in its national message, printed in Istanbul in 1925.
  • The Poem 'Ey Pêşmerge': The earliest poem to use the concept of the 'Peshmerga' in Kurdish literature.
  • Letters to the Bedirxans: His verse correspondence with the Bedirxan family forms an archive of early Kurdish national thought.
  • The Call for Printing in Kurdish: He was the first to call for the printing of books in Kurdish from Istanbul.

The Lands of Hacî Qadir

  • Koysinjaq — His birthplace east of Hewlêr.
  • Slemani — The first stage of his studies.
  • Baghdad — Where he studied the religious sciences.
  • Mecca — His pilgrimage there earned him the title Hacî.
  • Istanbul — His long final residence and burial place.

Quotes & Legacy

  • Without a pen there is no dignity, and without knowledge there is no nation. — The most famous line of his diwan.
  • If we have no poem in our own tongue, then we are nothing but a flock without a shepherd. — From a poem on the mother tongue.
  • Arise, O Kurd — nations do not fall asleep twice. — From his poems of awakening.

LEGACY

  • Hacî Qadir is the spiritual father of modern Kurdish nationalism. Schools and universities in Koye, Hewlêr, and Slemani bear his name, and his verses are recited at national ceremonies. The studies of Martin van Bruinessen and Izzeddin Mustafa Resul on the rise of Kurdish thought take his diwan as their starting point.

SOURCES

  • Martin van Bruinessen · Agha, Shaikh and State · 1992 · Zed Books
  • Ferhad Shakely · Kurdish Nationalism in Mam u Zin of Ahmad-i Khani · 1992 · Uppsala University
  • عزّ الدين مصطفى رسول · حاجي قادر كويي شاعراً ومفكّراً · 1979 · بغداد
  • Encyclopædia Iranica — Kurdish Literature · https://iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-written-literature